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A generally enjoyable film that is ultimately somewhat of a mess, and is mostly held together by Gail Gadot’s strong performance as a vulnerable Wonder Woman. On paper, the plot is fine. But the execution takes some nonsensical turns, and it all ends with a messy finale. Pedro Pascal’s Maxwell Lord quickly loses all the rationale for his evil plot, and his true motivations come to light too late in the game to truly understand him. Kristen Wiig’s story arc as the villainous Cheetah works much better, even if it’s a touch rushed. Gadot continues to impress as Diana Prince, and faces emotional and physical challenges that put her to the test. However, the chemistry she had with Steve Trevor in the first film just isn’t here, and isn’t helped by the convoluted way that he returns. There’s some nice action sequences, but they’re surprisingly short, and too many of them rely on some new physics-bending abilities of the magic lasso. There’s also a bit of campiness throughout the film that seems a little out of place, and the things get kind of sappy. There is a brief mid-credits scene that’s cute, but irrelevant.
**1/2 out of *****